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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-26703

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.6.18 / 6.7.6 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing/timerlat: Move hrtimer_init to timerlat_fd open() Currently, the timerlat's hrtimer is initialized at the first read of timerlat_fd, and destroyed at close(). It works, but it causes an error if the user program open() and close() the file without reading. Here's an example: # echo NO_OSNOISE_WORKLOAD > /sys/kernel/debug/tracing/osnoise/options # echo timerlat > /sys/kernel/debug/tracing/current_tracer # cat <<EOF > ./timerlat_load.py # !/usr/bin/env python3 timerlat_fd = open("/sys/kernel/tracing/osnoise/per_cpu/cpu0/timerlat_fd", 'r') timerlat_fd.close(); EOF # ./taskset -c 0 ./timerlat_load.py <BOOM> BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000010 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI CPU: 1 PID: 2673 Comm: python3 Not tainted 6.6.13-200.fc39.x86_64 #1 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-1.fc39 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:hrtimer_active+0xd/0x50 Code: 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 40 00 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 f3 0f 1e fa 0f 1f 44 00 00 48 8b 57 30 <8b> 42 10 a8 01 74 09 f3 90 8b 42 10 a8 01 75 f7 80 7f 38 00 75 1d RSP: 0018:ffffb031009b7e10 EFLAGS: 00010286 RAX: 000000000002db00 RBX: ffff9118f786db08 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffff9117a0e64400 RDI: ffff9118f786db08 RBP: ffff9118f786db80 R08: ffff9117a0ddd420 R09: ffff9117804d4f70 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff9118f786db08 R13: ffff91178fdd5e20 R14: ffff9117840978c0 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007f2ffbab1740(0000) GS:ffff9118f7840000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000010 CR3: 00000001b402e000 CR4: 0000000000750ee0 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> ? __die+0x23/0x70 ? page_fault_oops+0x171/0x4e0 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? avc_has_extended_perms+0x237/0x520 ? exc_page_fault+0x7f/0x180 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x26/0x30 ? hrtimer_active+0xd/0x50 hrtimer_cancel+0x15/0x40 timerlat_fd_release+0x48/0xe0 __fput+0xf5/0x290 __x64_sys_close+0x3d/0x80 do_syscall_64+0x60/0x90 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? __x64_sys_ioctl+0x72/0xd0 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x2b/0x40 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? do_syscall_64+0x6c/0x90 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x142/0x1f0 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x2b/0x40 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0x7f ? do_syscall_64+0x6c/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8 RIP: 0033:0x7f2ffb321594 Code: 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48 83 c8 ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 90 f3 0f 1e fa 80 3d d5 cd 0d 00 00 74 13 b8 03 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 3c c3 0f 1f 00 55 48 89 e5 48 83 ec 10 89 7d RSP: 002b:00007ffe8d8eef18 EFLAGS: 00000202 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000003 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007f2ffba4e668 RCX: 00007f2ffb321594 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 00007ffe8d8eef40 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 55c926e3167eae79 R11: 0000000000000202 R12: 0000000000000003 R13: 00007ffe8d8ef030 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 00007f2ffba4e668 </TASK> CR2: 0000000000000010 ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- Move hrtimer_init to timerlat_fd open() to avoid this problem.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 6.5, < 6.6.18>= 6.7, < 6.7.6= 6.8

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.6.18 / 6.7.6 or later
Fixed in 6.6.186.7.6
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.6.18+, 6.7.6+, or 6.8+ (depending on your kernel branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. 2. For kernel 6.5.x: upgrade to kernel version 6.6.18 or later
  3. 3. For kernel 6.6.x (< 6.6.18): upgrade to kernel version 6.6.18 or later
  4. 4. For kernel 6.7.x (< 6.7.6): upgrade to kernel version 6.7.6 or later
  5. 5. For kernel 6.8.x: upgrade to kernel version 6.8.1 or later
  6. 6. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  7. 7. Verify the fix by checking `uname -r` shows the patched version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,850. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

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